Hey guys! I'm back with something new. This was an idea I came up with a few months ago and I've been tossing it around to see if it was any good. I honestly hope it's good. I can't really tell. Plus, it's something to do with Young Justice while I wait for the show to come back on! Enjoy! And I'll see you at the end!

Nightwing sat in front of one of the computer screens in the Batcave. Somewhere upstairs Alfred was making a dinner that only Tim would eat. Behind him the current Robin was training on the equipment. It almost reminded him of the old days.

He was following a string of what he suspected were thefts by Catwoman while planning a new mission for Young Justice when one of the screens next to his flickered to life. He glanced down at the keyboard, knowing he hadn't turned it on.

"Nightwing." His eyes flicked up to the screen. It was covered with static accompanied with the normal sound of static. He'd sworn, somewhere in all that noise, he'd heard his name. "Nightwing, Dick." There it was again. Only this time he was positive he'd heard it. Suddenly, the image cleared and he was staring at the face of his old mentor. To anybody outside of the Bat family, he would have looked calm and collected but Dick knew him too well. He wasn't calm, he was panicked. "I hope this reaches you. I'm sending this from Rimbor. We've been tricked. Miss Martian obtained false information planted in the Krolotean's head to lure us into a trap."

The screen fizzled into static for a moment. Dick attention was focused solely on the screen so, he didn't hear Tim come up behind him. The younger boy had been attached by the sound of his mentor's voice. A voice that he missed more than he realized. The image came up again and the message continued. "We were all ready to take responsibility for what we had done but, we had expected a trial and jail time. Not this. Dick, all six of us have been- been- been- been-" The video got stuck leaving Nightwing frustrated and ready to punch a hole through the screen. Just when he thought he could take no more, the message continued. "Been sentenced to death. Hawkman's already dead- dead- dead. He fought against Hawkwoman's sentence-" Whatever he was about to say was skipped. "-faster than we could stop him. The creatures on this planet are planning an invasion of Earth. They think if they take the six of us out Earth will fall easier. Their right. Remember the training exercise, Failsafe? Imagine that descending upon the Earth, only this will be real." Batman's grim face froze.

The image flickered. Each time the screen went black Dick could see the reflection of his shocked face. "You need to gather the original team. You're the only heroes I can think to send here without leaving the Earth defenseless against the enemies already present- Artemis and Kid Flash out of retirement. You are the only one who can convince Aqualad to join again. I know you can do it. Leave Zatanna and Rocket there. There is no other choice except to surrender to the invasion. Icon and the other five wanted me to tell you to surrender but they don't realize there is no surrender. They will annihilate Earth to ensure no other heroes will rise. I know this will be a terrible burden to put on your shoulders and the shoulders of the heroes left behind but I have faith you will rise to save the Earth-" Batman's words were cut off by a banging followed by an electric buzzing sound. "I don't have much time left. The coordinates to the planet are still on the computer in the Batcave. Hurry." Batman pushed off his cowl and became Bruce Wayne. "And Dick, in case my sentence has been carried out before you arrive, remember I do care about you. From the moment I excepted you into the house you were my life, my only reason to come home each night. You too, Tim. I care about you two and your future more than anything in the universe. I only wish I would have told Jason that. If I die, Gotham can survive without Batman. Neither of you should try and become him. It's a burden I don't want either of you to bear. Understood?" His voice held he parental tone, almost making Dick think he was nine years old again and Bruce was explaining a mission. The buzzing noise stopped and a metallic clang replaced it. The dark knight pulled his cowl back on and glanced off to his left. " Complete the mission, Nightwing. Keep Gotham safe, Robin."

"Bruce," Nightwing whispered as the screen went black again. He stood up quickly and pulled out his phone.

"You're going to save him, aren't you?" Tim asked quietly. The older boy turned around and looked at his little brother before nodding swiftly. He put his phone to his ear and took a few steps away form the computer.

"Kaldur," he muttered. "Artemis, where's Kaldur? Never mind. Code blue, 0056b-35. Get Kaldur and yourself out of there." He paused as Artemis replied. "Replaced. We have a more important mission. Any heroes in captivity need to be brought up also. The Earth's going to need all the help it can get." Another pause. "I know how hard it'll be but you have to do it." Tim waited as the conversation continued. "We'll get the Light. I promise. Just do it." Nightwing snapped the phone shut before turing to the current Robin. "Get Barbara and Alfred down here," he commanded as he dialed another number.

Tim was shocked to hear Dick talking to someone who was supposed to be dead but he knew better than to question Nightwing. So, he nodded and disappeared up the stairs. "Wally," Dick said into the phone.

"Dick?" Wally answered, confused. "What's wrong? Is Artemis ok?" Panic flooded his voice. Nightwing's shoulder's slumped at the sound of it. It killed him that his best friend constantly worried because of his decision. It was something that he would never forget.

"Artemis is fine. Look, remember how the six leaguer's went to Rimbor to face the charges for their crimes?"

"Yeah. And?"

"We going after them." He could hear Wally's gasps of surprise. "You need to come out of retirement."

"Why are we going after them, exactly?"

"I'll explain once I have everyone together. Meet me at the ruins of Mt. Justice." Wally began to protest but he was cut off. "That's an order." Nightwing sighed as he snapped the phone shut again. He still had to more calls to make, one to Conner, which would probably be the easiest , and M'gann, he didn't know how she'd react. After that, he had a few instructions for Tim, Al, and Babs. Then, he'd be off to the remains of their old headquarters. All of this and he still hadn't formed a plan to save his mentor.

He finally understood why Bruce never had time for sleep.

~/\~

The bruise now forming around his eye was definitely a distraction but he couldn't blame Wally. After all, Nightwing had sent Artemis on the most dangerous mission of her life only to pull her out again. Wally was right, he was turning into Batman. But that didn't matter at the moment. What mattered was explaining the situation, convincing the team that this mission wasn't suicide, and creating a plan.

"No," M'gann snapped. It was one of the first times she'd ever been mad at Nightwing and he was surprised at amount of fury contained in the small martian. Her eyes stared defiantly into the whites of his domino mask. He was almost glad they were on the same side. "L'gann was captured because of your plan to fake Artemis' death. Do you know what it's like thinking one of your best friends is dead?"

"No, I don't know what it's like. But I do know a fair amount about death and I do know we'll have even more deaths on are hands, real ones, if we don't do this now." He wasn't going to admit saving Bruce would have been reason enough for him.

"L'gann is safe now. I'm still alive. Before this Nightwing had a perfectly good reason for sending me down there. Even if all of us didn't approve" Artemis explained, as she glanced towards Wally. She readjusted Kaldur, who was seemingly unconscious and slung over her shoulder. Artemis and M'gann had already explained how the martian had attacked his mind and only learned the true after it was too late. So far the Atlantian had been silent, not giving them much hope about his situation. Nightwing had barely gotten between them and the defenseless ex-leader. Conner and M'gann still didn't trust him even when Nightwing explained the undercover mission he'd been on. Wally, however, was still too mad at Dick to even contribute to their plans besides a few snide remarks about his best friend. Artemis had given up trying to calm him down ever since he accidentally snapped at her. She had her back turned to him and wouldn't except any apology from him, almost reminding Nightwing of the old day when they couldn't stand each other.

M'gann had turned on Artemis now but she didn't back down. She was right about this and nothing Miss M could say could change that. "Like I'm supposed to believe you. You've almost killed members of our team too many times."

"So, you're just going to leave you uncle to die?" Artemis asked. M'gann's glares stopped as her eyes misted over and she began to cry. Conner pulled her into a hug rather awkwardly and possibly out of habit.

"What about the rest of the team? What about the Earth? Robin? Gotham? Did you even think this through?" Wally demanded. In his outburst he'd tried to throw his arm protectively around Artemis but she'd thrown it off in anger so, his arms where crossed over his chest as he stared down Nightwing. Artemis spun around, ready to yell at him, stumbling under Kaldur's weight. Nightwing threw the Atlantian's other arm over his shoulder and helped the archer.

"Enough," he commanded. Unconsciously, they all stopped and looked at their new leader. The habit of following his commands were still stuck deep in their subconscious whether they liked it or not. "Five years ago we wouldn't have questioned Batman's orders. We would've followed them because that's what we were trained to do. We wouldn't have fought each other. We would've helped each other. We were friends. We were a team. Doesn't anyone else remember that?" The whole team went silent. A cold breeze floated over them, raising goosebumps on several arms. Artemis shivered quickly, rubbing her arms to warm them up. Faint sounds of traffic in Happy Harbor were the only noises in the clearing that used to be Mt. Justice. Finally, someone spoke up.

"I remember," Wally sighed. "And not a day goes by that I don't miss those days but we've got to face it, those days are over. I'm in retirement and I'm going home."

As he turned to leave a dark look passed over Dick's face. "What happened to the Wally I used to know? The one that idolized the Flash and would've rather died than give up his costume."

"That Wally grew up."

"And what about the Wally that I fell in love with?" Artemis snapped. Wally had been right, she was addicted to the rush of the whole hero gig but it went beyond that. This short mission with Kaldur reminded her of why she had joined in the first place. She couldn't even remember why she'd quit. "What about the one who would've never left a fellow hero die? Not if he could help it."

"For one mission, can we just pretend we're still a team? The last mission as a team." Nightwing's gazed passed from one member to the next as he waited for an answer. "Wally, what about your uncle, your aunt, your parents? M'gann, what about L'gann? This invasion is real and worse than the Kroloteans or the Reach. Heck, they don't even want to invade, they're just going to destroy Earth. The ones you love will be gone. The Justice League will be gone. Hawkman's already gone. One last mission?"

Everyone was quiet. Wally had turned back and was now at Artemis' side. They whispered back and forth as the minutes passed. M'gann pushed away from Conner slightly and smiled at Kaldur. Dick Grayson watched as the memories of the past washed over his friends, reminding them of why were friends in the first place. "No," Conner replied. "This shouldn't be our last mission as a team. But in case it is, I want to be a team for it."

"We're in," Artemis said, locking her fingers with Wally's.

"I'm in for Uncle J'onn and L'gann," Miss Martian explained. Conner just shrugged and nodded.

Nightwing laughed quickly. "Alright. Wally, Artemis, suit up. M'gann call over the bioship. Conner help me with Aqualad. Miss M, you're going to try and get his mind working again. If we're going to be a team then will need our leader back."

Ok! Well, I'm probably gonna say this a lot in the next few chapters, but Please don't kill me, Fandom! Also, please tell me what you think! I really want to know since I'm a little unsure of this story. Don't worry, I promise it'll pick up more in a bit, I'm setting this up for the moment! (A little shout out to those who read my other YJ stories: I'm very sorry updates are pretty much nonexistent for the moment. They will resume, hopefully!)
So, tell me what you think and I'll see you next chapter. (Well, not really 'see' but you get the point!)